The Bloodhound Project
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Build a rocket boys

Project News

Thursday, 27 September, 2012

In some way the fact that no more anchor bolts were needed is a good sign of progress, so it was straight to the site this morning for the briefing. The main task for today was to move the rocket motor into position. The first task was to prepare the motor with the load cell, but this was not straight forward and required the deft forklift controls from Mr Dee to slip the load cell along the motor. The end cap in front of the CatPack had to be removed, before the load cell could go on.

Once the load cell is located at the Nozzle end (where the flame comes out), the motor can be taken over to the rig and placed on the ‘sled’. The angle of the motor in the rig is the same as when it is in the car where the thrust line is set at 5 degrees, and the load cell will help us measure the thrust from a full hybrid firing.

Next we have the deluge system to check, which means we need the airport fire brigade to visit with their new Panther fire trucks. One of these will be connected to the deluge rig to provide instant water flooding in the event of a fire. Before we start the test Daniel Jubb briefs the fire crew on the main chemical hazard, HTP. After a short presentation we go outside to watch a practical demonstration from Daniel, which gives the team experience of dealing with HTP.

The last safety test was to connect the Panther to the deluge rig and pump water through the system at 6 bar.

In an emergency the rocket system will be instantly flooded with water, which will put out a fire and dilute any HTP spills.

Last night at Chalet Chez Bloodhound we decided to eat out to welcome other team members arriving. Some flew back from the press briefing in London, but due to the strong winds battering the UK, the landing was quite challenging, so we had a beer and debriefed!